We Are Here

We Are Here is a community art project designed by Meredith Brickell and Ray Duffey for the Near Eastside neighborhood in Indianapolis as part of Made for Each Other, a series of eight community initiatives that took place in neighborhoods across Indianapolis during 2009-2010. Organized by Big Car Collective under the guidance of curator Jim Walker, Made for Each Other projects were designed to be social, interactive and interpersonal in nature.

We Are Here: Meredith Brickell/Ray Duffey with Big Car

We Are Here invited all Near Eastside residents to draw a picture of their home and volunteers worked with schools and community groups in the area to coordinate drawing sessions.

We Are Here: Meredith Brickell/Ray Duffey with Big Car, drawing by Near Eastside resident

We Are Here invited all Near Eastside residents to draw a picture of their home and volunteers worked with schools and community groups in the area to coordinate drawing sessions.

We Are Here: Meredith Brickell/Ray Duffey with Big Car

An exhibition of the drawings was presented at the Made for Each Other Gallery as a way to represent and celebrate the people who live in the Near Eastside neighborhood. Although this area of the city faces challenges with neglected and abandoned housing, the neighborhood is occupied by a great diversity of people, strengthened by community activism and has benefitted from a remarkable redevelopment plan that continues to make significant improvements in the area in the next few years. The drawings, rendered in the unique hand of individuals who live in the neighborhood, were installed side by side in the gallery to create a new visual representation of the community.

We Are Here: Meredith Brickell/Ray Duffey with Big Car, drawing by Near Eastside resident

Organized by Big Car Collective under the guidance of curator Jim Walker, Made for Each Other projects were designed to be social, interactive and interpersonal in nature. We Are Here invited all Near Eastside residents to draw a picture of their home and volunteers worked with schools and community groups in the area to coordinate drawing sessions.

We Are Here: Meredith Brickell/Ray Duffey with Big Car, drawing by Near Eastside resident

We Are Here invited all Near Eastside residents to draw a picture of their home and volunteers worked with schools and community groups in the area to coordinate drawing sessions.